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Winners Announced for 2017 ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence

Architecture firms WTW Architects, VMDO Architects, CannonDesign, Perkins+Will, and Moody Nolan received ACUI’s Facility Design Award of Excellence during the Architecture and Design Showcase on Tuesday, March 21, at the 2017 ACUI Annual Conference in Philadelphia.

Now in its 13th year, the Facility Design Award of Excellence recognizes outstanding renovation and construction project collaborations between architecture firms and college staff and students. College unions are the true hearthstone of the higher education campus, and Association members continue to be transformational leaders in the field of renovation and construction.

Applicants and awards are divided into categories: four categories based on budget for college unions, and one category for other student life facilities. Projects are judged on 11 criteria by a jury of peers in the architecture and higher education industries.

The 2017 ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence winners are as follows:

WTW Architects for the Student Center, Wayne State University
Opened Aug. 15, 2015

“The best thing about the design profession is the opportunity to work with great people,” said Paul Knell, FAIA, Senior Principal at WTW Architects. “WTW’s successful collaboration with Wayne State was accomplished with an outstanding team of individuals, all dedicated to design excellence. We are proud that this ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence marks our thirteenth such award since 2004.”

VMDO Architects for the Rollins Campus Center and Zell and Shirley Miller Library, Young Harris College
Opened Aug. 1, 2014

“VMDO is honored to have been a trusted design partner with Young Harris College on this special project in the mountains of North Georgia, and we are thrilled that the Rollins Campus Center has truly transformed student life at YHC,” said Joseph Atkins, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, Principal at VMDO Architects. “Highly anticipated, the mixed-use Campus Center and Library now serves as the social and intellectual heart of campus.”

CannonDesign for the J. Wayne Reitz Union, University of Florida
Opened Feb. 1, 2016

“Our design lens never lost sight of balancing student life and activities,” said Roland Lemke, AIA, LEED AP, Principal at CannonDesign. “After all, experiences from these years define who students are long after they graduate. This building is more than bricks and mortar; it helps create experiences. The J. Wayne Reitz Union’s legacy is now further reinforced for future student generations to learn and discover in this place—a central campus place, a home for the diverse activities supported within, and the endless opportunities for students and the entire UF community.”

Perkins+Will for the University Union, University of North Texas
Opened Nov. 30, 2014

“This remarkable project is the culmination of an incredibly collaborative effort with UNT students, staff, and union leadership,” said Jeff Stebar, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal at Perkins+Will. “Not only did the entire project team transform the University Union, but because of UNT’s visionary leadership, it has also rejuvenated student life across the campus.”

“This project had a constructive and productive collaboration with Winston-Salem’s campus architect Ron Vanard, our Woolpert-Moody Nolan design team, the school administration, and somewhat uniquely even the student body in how this building was designed and organized on a difficult site and with a diverse program of student services and student recreation,” said Brian Tibbs, AIA, Partner, Moody Nolan. “The site for the DJR Student Activities Center at WSSU had several opportunities, but what turned the opportunities into successes was the constant, open collaboration of the design team and the university for the best solution.”

Applications for the 2018 Facility Design Awards will be accepted in late 2017.